Weekend in Melbourne

I had an amazing time in Melbourne traveling by myself, getting to do what I wanted to do on my own time, and met a lot of really nice people. Here is what I did (in outline form):

 

Saturday

-       Early ass flight

-       Arrived at hostel

-       Walked around CBD and looked in stores

-       Chocolate tour starting at Haighs and ending at Koko Black

-       Walked around a lot

-       Toured state library, saw gusto and other library exhibits

-       Gingerbread man city

-       Tons of graffiti and art, esp. Union Lane

-       Dark Horse art gallery

-       Federation Square

-       Queen Victoria Market

-       Australian Center for the Moving Image

-       Taiwanese beef soup for dinner

-       Free tram

For sale at the Big Design Market

Good advice from a wall

Sunday

-       State Library to use internet

-       Free walking tour (3 hours) all through the city

-       Lunch on the Yarra River and a drink on the pier bar w/ Nora and Felipe

-       National Gallery of Victoria

-       Returned to Australian Center for the Moving Image

-       Cider at The Imperial in Fitzroy Precinct on Brunswick with Nora, Felipe, and Olivie

-       Dinner at The Oven

Seen at the National Gallery of Victoria

RALLY: Contemporary Indonesian Art piece of a pink flower creature

Monday

-       Free bus tour (90 minutes)

-       Royal Botanic Gardens (gorgeous) and the Shrine war memorial

-       Walked around Art Precinct

-       $5.50 delicious buffet lunch at Crossways, the Hare Krishna place where I ate with two nice, old ladies- they feed the homeless and is probably the nicest business model I have ever encountered (pay what you can and trust others to pay it forward)

-       Melbourne Museum

-       Returned to National Gallery of Victoria

-       Swung and read in Carlton Gardens park

-       Walked around Carlton precinct

-       Watched Skyfall at IMAX Melbourne Museum (3^rd largest screen in the world, great film and movie experience)

-       Pho dinner late in Carlton precinct

Royal Botanic Gardens

 

Melbourne Museum animal room

Tuesday

-       St. Kilda- walked around, laid by beach, read book, walked on pier, saw penguin, got lunch at a cute bakery/ café, more walking around St. Kilda

-       Walked around CBD

-       Visited State library

-       Walked around Fitzroy precinct

-       Got a juice and salad at airport

-       Returned to Sydney after lots of airplane flight delays

Almond horseshoe and long black with soy on Acland St. in St. Kilda